This study developed and investigated an empirical sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient. The effects of sample size, number of variables, and population value of the congruence coefficient on the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient were examined. Sample data were generated on the basis of the common factor model and principal axes factor analyses were performed. Sampling distributions were formed on the basis of 200 replications for each combination of psi, sample size, and number of variables. Characteristics of each distribution were described and goodness of fit to normality tests, t-tests, and chi square tests were performed to determine whether the sampling distributions behaved similarly to the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient. The results indicated that when the population congruence coefficient is zero, the sampling distribution of the congruence coefficient is relatively stable and is similar to the sampling distribution of the correlation coefficient. The expected variance of each sampling distribution is influenced not only by sample size but also by the number of variables used in the factor analysis. Further research needs to be done to ascertain more specifically the effect of sample size and number of variables on the variance of the sampling distribution. (PN)

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